The Cherek is a river in Kabardino-Balkaria in Russia, a right tributary of the Baksan. The Cherek is 79 kilometres (49 mi) long and drains a basin of 3,070 square kilometres (1,190 mi2). The Cherek is formed by the confluence of the Cherek-Balkarsky and Cherek-Khulamsky, both of which originate in the glaciers of the northern slopes of the Greater Caucasus, one of them being the Bezengi Glacier. The river Nalchik flows into the Urvan, which is a branch of the Cherek.